Equal rights for all races would be the factor that might reverse the brain drain, said Wan Saiful Wan Jan, CEO of IDEAS at the Brain Drain forum held in Swiss Garden Residences on Saturday.

“Everyone should get equal rights and politicians should grow up!” he commented, adding that the hostile political atmosphere here, needed to change, to attract the Malaysian graduates who have settled down overseas.

He disagreed with panelists Johan Merican, CEO of Talentcorp and Mark Rozario, CEO of Agensi Inovasi Malaysia on the effectiveness of the Returning Expert Program (REP) to entice Malaysian professionals to return.

Wan Saiful, being a beneficiary of the REP himself, said that the tax reductions via the REP did not factor into his decision to return. The key to reducing the brain drain, is the shift in discriminatory policies against certain races, said Wan Saiful and Penang Institute CEO Dr. Lim Kim Hwa.

The forum, called ”Brain Drain: Who gains? Who sacrifices?” organized by the Penang Institute, was moderated by Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming and officiated by Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng in the Swiss Garden Residences Kuala Lumpur. The welcoming address was delivered by Zairil Khir Johari, Executive Director of the Penang Institute.

The discussion was set up to exchange opinions on the problem of brain drain that sees Malaysian professionals move to Singapore and other countries for better career opportunities.

Most of the professionals who do not return, are non – Malays, said Johan Merican, who asked that Malaysians be hopeful despite the recent spate of religious and racist extremism.

Questions and comments from the floor also pointed to the rise of racial politics being the issue preventing local talents abroad from choosing to return home.

Panelist Lim Kim Hwa and Wan Saiful agreed that the REP can be viewed as discriminatory against local professionals , as they would not enjoy the same benefits of tax reduction as local REP beneficiaries.

Also, graduates might choose to move abroad to take advantage of the REP later, and this would invite the risk of losing our professionals who chose not to return home, said the Penang Institute CEO. Dr. Lim suggested to cut income tax rates to stop our talents from relocating.

Giving the example of Taiwan, which was able to solve their brain drain problem in the 80’s, a conducive environment, with good career prospects should be what Malaysia aims for, he said.